By way of background, vehicle front and rear seat assemblies typically include a right and left seat assembly having a seat bottom portion, a pivotal seat back, a seat track assembly and a center console or arm rest assembly positioned between the right and left seat assemblies. Typically, each of the components comprising the seat assemblies must be independently mounted in the vehicle, that is to the vehicle floor pan. More specifically, the seat bottom and seat back are mounted to a pair of seat tracks which must then be mounted to the vehicle floor pan for each individual seat assembly. Similarly, the center console is commonly secured between the seat assemblies and mounted to the vehicle floor pan. Other components of a vehicle seat assembly including seat adjustment means, seat belt restraint assemblies, rear hatch compartment panels, etc. must be individually mounted to the vehicle seat assembly and are often independently secured to the vehicle floor pan or vehicle side walls.
Additionally, the front seat assemblies for automobiles are designed for each model of automobile and are only usable in that model. The seat assembly for each model is fabricated from components specifically designed for that particular seat assembly and the seat assemblies for opposite sides of the vehicle frequently differ, sometimes requiring the two seats to be installed in the vehicle in separate procedures.
There are seat assemblies known in the prior art which include two seats as a unit, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,526,421 to Brennan et al and 5,385,384 to Gierman et al; single seat assemblies which include components for rapid attachment to the vehicle body, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,239 to Laporte; and a single seat assembly having minimal components, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,050 to Hall et al.
However, there remains a need for an improved design which is fabricated of a minimum of components which are universally used in seats from model to model, yet retaining the flexibility to individually stylize the seats from model to model. Attendant to those design objectives is the requirement for a basic or universal seat frame assembly.